


First Touch, True Love

by FlowerWishes



Category: WTFock | Skam (Belgium)
Genre: M/M, Soulmates, Strangers to Lovers, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:00:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26953270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlowerWishes/pseuds/FlowerWishes
Summary: In a world built on the concept of soulmates, Robbe doesn't believe in them.But what will happen when he meets his?
Relationships: Sander Driesen/Robbe IJzermans
Comments: 38
Kudos: 124





	1. Romeo and Juliet

**Author's Note:**

> Hi,
> 
> This is the start of a new fic and I hope you like it!  
> Let me know what you think of it.
> 
> Stay safe xx  
> -D
> 
> This fic has now been fully revised and re-edited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi,
> 
> So, I've decided to revise this entire fic to hopefully make it better.

“Romeo and Juliet,” Mr. Stewart, Robbe’s English Literature teacher, said, “That’s our play study for this semester.

The classroom was promptly filled with the mixture of expressions from the students towards this announcement. Some rolled their eyes and groaned in disgust and others appeared rather excited. The latter group was significantly smaller than its predecessor.

“I know it sounds rather cliché,” Mr. Stewart continued, “and I can feel your overwhelming enthusiasm for the topic but there’s a reason why we still study this play and other works by Shakespeare. Can anyone suggest why?”

Silence was accompanied by motionlessness as not a single hand was raised in response to the question.

“Okay, well, it’s because the themes that are present in Shakespeare’s writing are still relevant in this day and age. For example, in Romeo and Juliet, themes such as love, family and conflict arise and are explored. Themes such as those will never not be relatable in our society. The idea of true love and soulmates and doing anything to be with the person who completes you are all there on the pages of the play. Those ideas are built into the foundation of our world and that’s why we still study it.”

Robbe lightly touched the black swoosh under his right eyes and scoffed.

“Robbe,” Mr. Stewart said, picking up on his reaction, “Do you not agree?”

Robbe took a moment to collect his thoughts before taking a deep breath and leaning forward in his seat.

“Well, I just don’t believe in this whole soulmate thing,” Robbe began, “I think that just because someone is technically your ‘soulmate’ means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. It doesn’t mean loyalty, it doesn’t mean love and it doesn’t mean support. It guarantees nothing. So, I think that it’s all a giant farce.”

Robbe finished off with a shrug of his shoulders and sat back in his seat.

Mr. Stewart stared at him obviously taken aback by his words. He contemplated them for a moment before responding.

“Interesting, okay, I like that,” he said and turned away from Robbe to face the entire class, “I’ve just thought of the topic for your fist assignment, thanks to Robbe and his infinite wisdom. I want a two-page essay about soulmates and your opinion of them. Tell me your view of the idea, dig deep, I want to know what you truly think. It’s due next Friday.”

The class groaned in unison this time and Robbe felt everyone’s eyes drift towards him. He felt them practically boring into his soul with their intense stares. Robbe just shrunk back in his seat and willed himself to disappear.

He was saved by the ring of the bell indicating the end of the lesson. He packed his things into his backpack at lightspeed and rushed out of the class as quickly as possible in an attempt to avoid the downpour of anger and possible threats from his fellow classmates.

Luckily for him, and his safety, English Lit was his last class of the day. After he had attended to his locker and sorted out his belongings there, he hurried out of the building and headed towards the bike rack. He unlocked his bike as fast as possible, his escape plan still in motion, and began his journey home.

Along the way, he found his mind wandering back to the lesson and its discussions.

The idea of soulmates was one he was told about at an early age. He was told about the purpose of the black mark under his eye and what it meant and indicated.

He used to dream of the day when he found the perfect person for him and of the very first time they would touch and his mark would transform from a dull black into a rainbow of colours.

He loved to run through different scenarios of how they would come to touch. He was slightly obsessed with these thoughts of true love and viewed the idea through rose-tinted glasses. Through a lens of naivety.

But, he had long since removed those glasses and could now see clearly. He knew that it was all a lie. He had come to learn that at the age of 9 and it was a lesson he never forgot.

As the wind blew past Robbe’s face and rustled through his curls, he attempted to return his mind to the present and away from the past, to the truth and away from the lies.

Robbe rounded the corner, entering his street to notice a moving van parked in front of the house situated directly opposite his own. He pedalled closer and closer and his view got clearer and clearer.

That’s when he spotted _him_ and his world seemingly tilted on its axis.

A boy with bleached blonde hair that reflected the sun, contrasted by his black leather jacket and boots, stood in the front yard entranced by something on his phone.

The sun’s rays appeared to hone in on him and illuminate him brighter than everything else in Robbe’s line of sight. It was as if a spotlight shone down on the boy.

Robbe stopped in his tracks across the street and stared in awe as that was all he could muster the brain power to do at the moment.

The boy lifted his head from the screen. Upon noticing Robbe looking in his direction, he gave him a small smile and a slight nod of his head. It took Robbe a couple of seconds to reciprocate the actions with a smile of his own. His brain was apparently buffering right now and quite slowly at that.

The boy spun on his heels and walked inside the house, leaving Robbe behind, his moth slightly agape as he looked upon the spot where the boy no longer stood.

He finally managed to compose himself enough to recognize that his mouth was still open and he promptly closed it, hoping that no one had seem him like that. He entered his house and went straight to his room. He dropped his backpack next to his desk and fell back onto his bed with a thump.

He lay there with his eyes directed at the ceiling and all he could think to himself was,

_Fuck, I’m so screwed!_


	2. Nice To Meet You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bring to you, Chapter Two!

Robbe entered the kitchen on a mission to find something small to eat before he left for school. He was met by his mother already there, indulging in a hot cup of coffee and gave her a warm smile.

“Good morning, Mama,” Robbe greeted her.

“Morning, Robbe,” his mother replied with a smile on her face but exhaustion evident in her voice.

“How was your shift last night?”

“It was fine, tiring. The restaurant was packed.”

Robbe nodded his head in acknowledgement before retrieving an apple from the fruit bowl and heading out. He stopped to give his mother a kiss on the cheek and a goodbye.

Robbe slung his backpack over his shoulders and walked into the cool breeze outside, letting the air hit his face. He walked his bike to the road and prepared to begin his trip when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

Or rather, someone.

His eyes fell upon the figure of the boy from the previous afternoon who had taken his breath away and occupied his thoughts ever since. He was also mounting his bike and preparing to head out to wherever he was going. The boy lifted his head and waved to Robbe upon noticing him. Robbe gave a small wave back and waited for him to _hopefully_ approach.

The butterflies in Robbe’s stomach were already fluttering rapidly and his heart rate was so high that it was most definitely at an unhealthy level. His hands were beginning to sweat, and he couldn’t believe how nervous he was to meet a mere stranger.

To be fair, he was the most gorgeous human being that Robbe had ever laid his eyes upon.

“Hi,” the boy said when he reached Robbe’s side.

“Hey,” Robbe responded, his voice shaking ever so slightly.

“I see that we’re neighbours,” the boy said, a warm smile stretched across his face.

“Yeah,” Robbe said, his brain becoming less and less functional as the conversation went on and the ability to string coherent sentences together was diminishing.

“Where are you headed?” the boy asked.

“Crawford High School,” Robbe replied, the words barely able to exit his mouth.

“Me too, actually,” the boy said sounding rather excited, “Mind if we go together? I don’t know anyone here and I’m attempting to make friends. You should feel oh so honoured that I have chosen you as my very first target.”

They both laughed and Robbe could feel himself getting calmer and the level of brain functioning rising to just below normal levels.

“Sure, friend,” Robbe said, letting out another laugh.

“I’m Sander, by the way.”

“Robbe.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Robbe.”

“Likewise, Sander.”

“Vamonos!” Sander said, urging Robbe to follow him.

They spent the rest of the way to school talking about everything and nothing. They shared a few laughs and Robbe found that he couldn’t stop smiling the entire trip.

When they reached the front of the school building, they secured their bikes to the bike rack and stood there for a moment, in silence.

“Here we are,” Robbe finally said, “What’s your first class?”

“I’m not sure,” Sander replied, “It’s my first day so I have to check in with the counsellor to get my schedule.

“Oh, right,” Robbe laughed, “My bad.”

“What about you?”

“I have Biology first.”

“I see, well, maybe we can sit together at lunch? If you want to, of course, no pressure.”

“I think that that can be arranged,” Robbe said.

They walked into the building and parted ways with a smile.

“Hey, Robbe,” Sander called causing Robbe to spin around, “Um, where’s the counsellor’s office?”

“Oh, it’s at the end of the hall, on your right,” he said.

“Thanks,” Sander said with a smile.

Robbe headed towards his locker to take out the relevant books he needed and before walking to his first class of the day.

When he entered his Biology classroom, he went directly to his desk and found Yasmina, one of his best friends, already in her seat next to his.

“Good morning,” Robbe said, gleefully.

“What’s got you so happy this morning?” Yasmina asked, rather curious as to the change in Robbe’s usual demeanour.

“No reason,” Robbe said, lying right through his teeth.

His overwhelming joy was clearly linked to the fact that he got to speak to, and become friends with, the human form of perfection but Yasmina didn’t need to know that.

“Okay,” Yasmina said with a quirked eyebrow and a cheeky smile.

They sat there chatting, waiting for the bell to ring. However, two minutes before the start of class, in walked Sander. Robbe’s mouth once again fell agape, this was becoming routine at this point, but he quickly caught that fact and closed it promptly. Yasmina gave him a confused look before she followed his gaze with her own and reached the object of his sight.

“Aaaahhh,” Yasmina said, finally clued into what was going on, “I see.”

Robbe ducked his head, suddenly feeling very shy.

Within a few moments, Sander stood beside him.

“I guess we’re in the same class for Biology,” Sander said to him as Robbe raised his head so his eyes met Sander’s.

“I guess so,” Robbe said with a smile.

“Do you know where there is an empty seat that I can take?” Sander asked, looking around the room.

“The one right in front of me is all yours,” Robbe said.

“Cool, thanks.”

Sander put his backpack down next to him and immediately turned around to face Robbe and Yasmina.

“I’m Yasmina,” she introduced herself to him.

“Sander,” he said with a friendly nod.

“And how do you two know each other?” she questioned.

“We’re neighbours, as of yesterday,” Sander replied.

They sat in silence for a moment before a question popped into Robbe’s head.

“Aren’t you a senior?” he asked Sander.

“Yeah.”

“Then why are you in a junior class?”

“Oh, I failed Biology last year at my previous school so they’re letting me take it again here.”

“Oh, okay,” Robbe said in response.

Before any more words could be exchanged, the teacher, Ms. Marsh, entered the room and instructed the class to quieten down.

Robbe spent the entire class with a wide smile upon his lips and didn’t listen to a single word the teacher said.

 _Sander_ , he thought to himself, the name playing on repeat in his mind like a beautiful melody stuck in his head and he was more than happy to listen to it.


	3. Shining Lights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bring to thee, Chapter Three!

Robbe sat at his usual lunch table accompanied by his friends, Moyo, Aaron and Jens. They were talking about a History project that was sure to kick their asses and cursing out the teacher for assigning it. However, Robbe wasn’t paying too much attention to the obviously riveting conversation happening around him, he was too busy scanning the room for Sander. They had agreed that morning to sit together during lunch and Robbe was absolutely going to stick to that agreement.

Suddenly, his eye fell upon Sander and a smile crossed his face. He proceeded to get up from his seat with the purpose of telling Sander where they were seated so he could join them.

“Where are you going?” Jens asked but Robbe didn’t reply.

He approached Sander, who was standing just in front of the doorway looking lost, and waved at him.

“Hey,” Robbe said.

“Oh, hi.”

“Um, we’re sitting over there,” Robbe said, pointing towards the table they occupied.

“Okay, cool.”

They walked back to his group of friends and Sander took a seat next to Robbe.

“Hi, I’m Sander,” he introduced himself to the group, reaching his hand out to shake each of theirs.

The boys introduced themselves back, Jens and Moyo being casual and Aaron being his awkward self.

A silence was cast over the table.

“Sander’s my neighbour,” Robbe explained, breaking the silence.

“Aaaahh, I see,” Moyo said in realization.

“Well, welcome then,” Aaron added.

“Thank you, and thanks for letting me sit here with you guys,” Sander said.

“Of course,” Jens responded, “Any friend of Robbe’s is a friend of ours.”

They spent the remainder of the lunch break talking about something or other, nothing truly ground-breaking, but Robbe used the majority of the time to gaze at Sander when he wasn’t looking at him. Every once in a while, their eyes would meet, a smile would be exchanged, and a warm tingle would be sent down Robbe’s spine.

The ring of the bell dispersed the students in every direction on their way to their classes. Jens and Robbe walked together to their Maths class as Robbe noticed the slight smirk on Jens’ face.

“Okay, what’s that face for?” Robbe asked.

“You like him, don’t you,” Jens teased.

“I do not,” Robbe defended himself in vain.

“Yeah, I don’t believe you but keep telling yourself that if necessary.”

Robbe playfully shoved Jens in the shoulder and he shoved him right back as they enjoyed the last few moments of freedom before they would be drowning in the quadratic formula and Ms. Lawrence’s monotone voice.

\--

Robbe headed to the bike rack and saw that Sander was already standing there, seemingly waiting for him to arrive.

“We meet again,” Sander said with a smile.

“That we do.”

“Do you want to head back together?”

“Sure,” Robbe answered as a smile stretched across his lips.

\--

“So, what are you thinking of doing once you’re done with High School?” Robbe asked somewhere along their journey.

“I’m going to an arts school next year, hopefully,” Sander responded.

“An arts school, that’s really cool,” Robbe said, impressed, “So, you’re an artist.”

Sander let out a shy laugh.

“I’ll show you some of my work sometime,” Sander said, smiling widely at Robbe, “What about you, what are you passionate about?”

Robbe took a moment to think about it.

“I’m not sure really, if I’m being honest. I mean, I like skateboarding but other than that, I live a very bland life,” Robbe said with a small laugh.

“I don’t think you’re bland at all,” Sander said, stopping on the sidewalk.

Robbe paused as well, staying next to Sander.

“Thanks,” he said, his smile growing, “I think I’ve yet to figure things out.”

“No one has everything figured out, trust me,” Sander said in response.

They looked into each other’s eyes, searching and finding only truth and honesty within them.

“I want to show you something I’ve been working on,” Sander said, breaking the silence and beginning to pedal again.

“Um, okay. Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” Sander said in a sing-song tone.

Robbe laughed and followed suit.

\--

They arrived at an empty warehouse, not a single other soul in sight. The sun had faded behind the horizon and the moon had replaced it. Robbe was extremely confused as to their current situation but curious at the same time. He also felt like he could trust Sander and so he went along with it.

“Follow me,” Sander instructed.

“What are we doing here?”

“Just come.”

They climbed a flight of stairs to reach the second level, rounded a corner and stopped in front of a closed door.

Sander looked back at Robbe with a smile on his face before opening it revealing a dark and seemingly empty room.

That was when Sander flipped a number of switches and the room was filled with light.

A magnificent display of shining lights filled the room. Some were hanging from the ceiling and others were attached to the wall on strings. The twinkling of the lights reminded Robbe of a fairy tale, it was almost magical. The display was absolutely breath-taking in its beauty.

“Holy shit,” Robbe said, “You made this?”

“Yeah,” Sander said shyly.

“This is incredible, Sander…I’m kind of at a loss for words,” Robbe said in awe as his eyes moved around the room, taking in the sight.

“I made it a while ago, but I come back here a lot.”

“What gave you the idea?” Robbe said, turning away from Sander to walk between the hanging lights.

“Well, it’s here to remind me that even in the darkest times, there’s still the possibility to shine.”

Robbe walked closer to Sander, his eyes never leaving the boy’s.

“That’s really beautiful,” Robbe said, softly.

They moved closer and closer to each other until they were mere centimetres apart. Robbe leaned in and Sander did the same, when suddenly.

 ** _Ping_**.

 _You’ve got to be fucking kidding me_ , Robbe thought to himself as he leaned back to check his phone. It was a message from his mom.

**Mama** : _I didn’t have time to make dinner, so I left some money on the counter._

“We should probably go,” Sander said, “It’s getting late.”

“Yeah,” Robbe responded, disappointed as Sander flipped the switches once more and the room was cloaked in darkness.

They exited the building and were met with a star-filled sky but Robbe couldn’t stop looking at Sander and the way the moonlight shone down on him. In that moment, Robbe knew immediately…


	4. Colours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you adore, Chapter Four!

Robbe lay on his bed, his eyes closed, the twinkling of the lights still visible in his mind. His thoughts were drifting towards Sander and the moment they had shared before a text message had so rudely interrupted them.

He reached for his phone intending to send Sander a message, (they had only parted ways a mere 30 minutes earlier but Robbe had no shame) but he realized rather quickly that he didn’t have his number.

 _Good going_ , he thought to himself, _Nice job_.

He was becoming tired at this point, his eyes trying to droop shut, and Robbe didn’t really feel like going through the effort of ordering dinner, so he just pulled the covers over himself and willed himself to sleep.

\--

It was Friday morning, the weekend was just out of reach, and Robbe was looking forward to the absence of the school building from his sight for two days.

He proceeded through his morning routine which concluded with him waiting outside his home to meet Sander so that they could go to school together. That was the highlight of every day and always managed to put a smile on Robbe’s face.

He didn’t have to wait for too long before Sander appeared and walked towards Robbe, his bike in tow.

“Good morning,” he greeted.

“Morning,” Robbe reciprocated, his smile already forming.

They stood there for a few moments in a comfortable silence, looking at each other.

“Um, I wanted to ask you something,” Sander asked, breaking the silence.

“Sure, shoot.”

“Do you have any plans for tomorrow?” Sander asked, shyly.

“No, actually,” Robbe answered, both intrigued and excited by the question.

Sander looked visibly nervous.

“Well, if you want to, you can come over to my house and hang out,” Sander propositioned.

Robbe’s smile grew wider.

“That sounds great,” he said with enthusiasm.

“Awesome,” Sander said, smiling.

“Oh, by the way, I don’t have your number.”

“We should probably remedy that fact,” Sander said with a cheeky smile.

They exchanged phones and numbers and headed off in the direction of school.

\--

Friday afternoon was upon them and Robbe was due to meet his friends at the skatepark shortly, a tradition of theirs. He arrived and almost immediately spotted the three boys sitting on a bench and approached them.

“Hey,” Robbe said.

“Hey, man,” Moyo greeted, followed by Aaron and then Jens.

Robbe took a seat on the bench and placed his skateboard on the ground in front of him. He joined the conversation which consisted of them talking absolute shit before Moyo and Aaron got up to join a football game being played on the makeshift pitch.

When they were out of earshot, Jens spoke up.

“So, how’s it going with Sander?” He asked, playfully nudging Robbe in the shoulder.

“There’s nothing going on, we’re just friends,” Robbe said acting casual before adding under his breath, “Unfortunately.”

Despite his attempt at keeping that to himself, Jens heard.

“Unfortunately,” he said in a questioning tone, “Interesting.”

Robbe paused for a moment.

“Fine,” he said, giving in and rolling his eyes with a sigh, “I like him. There, you happy?”

“Very happy, for two reasons. Number one: I was right and Number two: I’m glad that you’ve found someone to make you smile,” Jens said, kindness and honesty lacing his tone.

“We’ll see what happens,” Robbe said, giving Jens a friendly smile, “But thanks.”

Moyo called out to them from where he stood, “Are you going to join us anytime soon?”

“We’re on our way,” Jens said, getting up and beckoning Robbe to follow him.

\--

Saturday afternoon, 15 minutes until Robbe was scheduled to arrive at Sander’s house and he had yet to choose something to wear. His floor was littered with clothing which he had tossed around.

 _I’m overthinking this_ , he thought, followed by, _No, I’m not, I’m definitely not overthinking this!_

He ended up going with his signature grey hoodie, a pair of jeans and accompanied that with his brown jacket and worn out sneakers that desperately needed replacing. In hindsight, he really should have chosen this from the beginning because he was now left with a Chernobyl level disaster in his room to clean up, or ignore, later.

He made his way across the street before arriving in front of the door. He stood there for a possible eternity trying to build up the courage to knock.

He finally willed his knuckles to bang against the door and Sander opened it with a warm smile.

“Hi,” he said and invited him in, “Welcome to my home.”

“Thanks,” Robbe responded, still nervous as all hell.

“Come on, we’ll go to my room.”

Robbe followed Sander’s lead to his bedroom. When he entered, he was met with paintings and sketches filling every square inch of wall space.

“Wow,” Robbe said, awestruck once again at Sander’s artistic prowess.

“Yeah, I draw a lot,” Sander said with a small laugh.

“I can see that,” Robbe said, accompanied by a laugh of his own, “These are amazing, Sander!”

“Thank you.”

“Tell me which pieces are your favourites,” Robbe said, still looking around the room.

Sander proceeded to show him five drawings and one after another, they took Robbe’s breath away again and again.

“I see that you really like to make art around lightness and darkness,” Robbe said, noticing a pattern in his work and trying to sound really smart.

“Uh, yeah. I feel like I can relate to the idea on a really deep level and so when I get lost within its meaning, I draw my thoughts to bring me back.”

Silence engulfed the room and Robbe absorbed Sander’s words.

Robbe sat down on Sander’s bed and noticed a sketchbook open next to him. When he laid his eyes upon the sketch, he smiled. He pulled his gaze away from the paper and met Sander’s eyes with his own.

“You drew a picture of me?” Robbe asked, his voice soft.

“That I did,” he responded, shyly.

“Why did you draw me?” Robbe asked him, a smile still on his face.

“When I come across something beautiful, I try to capture that beauty in a sketch so that I never forget it.”

“You think I’m beautiful?” Robbe asked, ducking his head with a shy smile on his lips.

“I really do.”

Sander joined Robbe on the bed, sitting next to him, as Robbe raised his head so that his eyes met Sander’s once again. They stared into each other’s eyes, drowning in their depths.

“You have an eyelash on your cheek,” Sander finally said.

He lifted his hand and brushed his thumb across the skin under Robbe’s right eye.

And then his world changed forever.

He caught sight of the ocean of magnificent colours that had appeared on Sander’s thumb and his heart began to race.

He looked up at Sander to see that he was focused on Robbe’s mark.

“Your mark,” Sander said in shock, “It’s glowing.”

Sander immediately dropped his gaze towards his thumb and was met with a similar sight. They gazed at each other once more, both stunned, neither one sure of what to do next.

Robbe was sure of only one thing, he was petrified.

He’d spent the majority of his life denying the truth of soulmates and yet here he was, met with his own.

He didn’t know what to do and so he went with the first thing that popped into his mind. He ran.

He ran out of the room, out of the house and into the road. He looked back at Sander’s house for a brief moment before sprinting into the safety of his own. He ran past his mother who looked extremely confused and shit his bedroom door behind him.

His legs gave out as his slid down against the door and allowed the tears to flow. It felt like his entire world was crumbling around him. Everything he believed in and everything he had trusted him for so long was crashing down. He liked Sander and he knew he did but this was far too much for him to process.

He brought his hand up to touch his mark, which had now returned to its previous state, his mind going blank. He felt terrified and frightened but most of all, he felt alone.

And so, he cried.


	5. Altijd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take a deep dive into Chapter Five!

Robbe was sprawled across his bed, ignoring the mountain of homework that he had yet to face and the constant influx of messages on his phone. He could have put it on silent but there was a part of him that was stopping him. Maybe it was the idea that someone cared about him enough to take the time to end him a message. Maybe it was the hope that that person was Sander.

Every once in a while, he glanced at the screen to clear the notifications that were piling up and caught sight of what the messages said.

**Sander** : _Robbe, are you there?_

_Please talk to me_

_What happened?_

_Did I do something wrong?_

Sander wasn’t the one who had done something wrong, it was Robbe. He had opened himself up to the idea of love and happily ever after and he had made himself vulnerable in the process. That was his first mistake. He knew that when you allowed yourself to lower your protective walls for someone else, it would always end in heartbreak for you, them or both.

He spent the rest of Sunday wrapped up in his blanket, trying to provide some form of physical comfort for himself but it wasn’t really working though he decided to stay like that regardless of its effectiveness.

Eventually, he heard a knock on his bedroom door echo throughout the room.

“Come in,” Robbe said, reluctantly.

“Robbe, what’s going on?” his mother asked, concerned.

“Nothing, Mama,” he lied, “Everything’s fine.”

“No, it is evidently not,” she responded, “You haven’t come out of your room since yesterday afternoon and I’m really worried about you.”

Robbe let out a defeated sigh.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he gave in before adding, “I just want to be alone.”

His mom remained in her position.

“Please, Mama,” he pleaded upon seeing the look of disappointment on her face.

She took a long pause.

“Okay, but will you please tell me what happened, eventually?”

“When I’m ready, I’ll tell you,” he said with a forced smile that anyone could see right through.

Robbe’s mother nodded, turned around reluctantly and exited the room leaving Robbe alone with his thoughts once more.

\--

Monday morning arrived and Robbe decided against forcing himself out of bed to get ready and inevitably facing Sander at school, if not before. He was going to ditch today in hopes of avoiding the unnecessary extra level of pain that would come with seeing Sander.

His mom had already left for work at her second job by this point, so he didn’t have any problems or obstacles in the way of executing his plan. He had long since switched off his phone as the incessant pinging had become too overwhelming.

He left his room, trudged down the stairs into the kitchen and grabbed something small to eat before immediately making his way to the living room. He turned on the TV to be met with some stupid reality program. He had to give them props though because he got quite invested in it and the distraction was making him feel slightly better, the thoughts of Sander being pushed to the back of his mind.

Around 16:00, his mom returned from work and Robbe had long since retreated back into the relative safety of his bedroom.

Then, the ringing of the bell filled the house, startling him. He wasn’t about to stand up to answer it, so he was more than thankful when his mom attended to that.

A few moments passed with only the mumbled words of his mother and whoever was at the door, drifting to his room.

The person had obviously been escorted to his bedroom as there was a knock at the door.

“Robbe, please let me in,” Sander’s voice replaced the silence in the room, “I just want to talk.”

Robbe took a deep breath and contemplated his decision before realizing that he was most probably backed into a corner at this point so he had only one choice.

“Fine,” he replied, cautiously, “You can come in.”

The door opened slowly, and Sander walked through it, closing it gently behind himself. He looked around the room, taking in the sights. He stood there, awkwardly, for some time as they both waited for the other to break the silence.

“You didn’t answer any of my messages,” Sander said, eventually.

“I know.”

“Why not?”

“Um, I needed some time to think and process what happened. It was a lot for me to handle,” Robbe said, truthfully.

“I get that,” Sander said, nodding, “It was a shock for me as well.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Robbe said in a low voice.

“Then help me understand,” Sander said, moving towards Robbe and taking a seat on his bed, “Tell me why, please.”

Robbe inhaled deeply before deciding that he couldn’t hide anymore, and the time had come to put everything out in the open. The tsunami of thoughts and feelings in his head needed to be released at some point.

“Okay,” Robbe agreed.

A long pause.

“When I was younger, I used to fantasise about meeting my soulmate and about how happy we’d be together, how our love would transcend space and time and how we’d have a fairy tale story,” Robbe started and Sander smiled.

“But that all came crashing down when I was 9 and mu dad just up and left. I was never told why, and I’ve come to the conclusion that my mom and I just weren’t enough for him,” Robbe paused, “I didn’t make him happy enough to make him stay.”

Tears began to well up behind Robbe’s eyes.

“My mom and dad had shared the mark, they were said to be soulmates and that was all a lie. That’s when I realized that this whole thing is a façade. There was nothing real about the marking process and being ‘soulmates’ means absolutely nothing. It doesn’t ensure love and it doesn’t ensure devotion. What it does ensure is pain and heartbreak. So, from that day on, I’ve been terrified that one day, my mark would burst into a million colours and I’d have to face someone who’d inevitable come to hurt me just like my dad did.”

A thick silence engulfed the room.

“Robbe,” Sander said, reaching his arm out in an attempt to bring Robbe into a hug which Robbe leant into. They sat there, wrapped in each other’s arms, Robbe allowing his tears to soak Sander’s shirt.

Once they pulled back from the hug, Sander spoke.

“Look, I can’t promise you that it won’t hurt and I can’t promise you a fairy tale but what I can promise you is that I’m going to try my very best to avoid putting you through any pain. I’m here for you and it’s going to be okay even when it feels like it’s not. I’m not going anywhere. I know that we met not that long ago but I feel like I’ve known you foe an eternity and I don’t want to lose you.”

Robbe smiled genuinely for the first time in days, “I don’t want to lose you either.”

Sander brought his thumb up to brush it over Robbe’s mark, igniting their marks into a dazzling display of colours.

“I’m here, altijd,” Sander said, a soft smile across his lips.

Robbe’s lips mimicked Sander’s with a smile of his own.

“Altijd,” Robbe repeated.


	6. A Shared Universe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Into the mix, it's Chapter Six!

Robbe awoke that morning with a smile on his face, his thoughts drifting back to the events of the previous day and back to Sander.

 _Altijd_ , he thought.

One word held so much meaning for him and although he was still terrified by the notion of lowering the walls that he had spent so many years building up, he felt like he was ready to do so for Sander.

He eagerly got dressed and walked, a joyful spring in his step, to the kitchen where his mom already stood.

“What’s got you so happy this morning?” she asked, surprised at the drastic change in his mood.

“Nothing,” Robbe said with a mischievous smile on his face.

“Oh, okay,” his mom said with a knowing smile and a nod of her head, “Sure.”

Robbe let out a small laugh before grabbing an apple, his usual breakfast, and heading out of the house.

He couldn’t wait to see Sander this morning and he felt like his legs were incapable of taking him there fast enough.

He closed the front door behind himself and saw Sander already waiting for him on the sidewalk outside of his house. He sported a wide smile across his face which brightened Robbe’s day. Robbe’s smile from earlier had yet to fade and merely grew bigger at the sight of the boy.

“Good morning,” he greeted.

“Hi,” Sander responded.

They stood there in a comfortable silence for a few moments, absorbing the feeling of the other’s presence.

“We should probably get going,” Sander said, “We don’t want to be late for Biology.”

“Right,” Robbe agreed, still smiling as they rode off towards school.

\--

They entered the classroom one after the other. (Robbe would have preferred side-by-side but the miniscule doorway didn’t allow for that.) He caught sight of Yasmina who was already looking at him suspiciously but she had a knowing look in her eyes as well.

Robbe took his seat beside her and Sander took his in front of them.

“I see that things are progressing nicely,” Yasmina whispered to Robbe.

Robbe instantly blushed, “Yeah, I think so.”

Sander turned around with a warm smile on his lips.

“Hey, Yasmina.”

“Hi, how are you this morning?” she asked him.

“I’m doing great,” he responded while stealing a glance at Robbe that Robbe caught and caused his blush to only deepen in its shade of red.

In walked Ms. Marsh about 3 seconds before the bell was due to ring and Sander turned around to face the front, a look of disappointment on his face at having to do so.

“Good morning, class,” she greeted being met with a mumble of greetings from the students, “Today’s lesson will cover the biological aspects and workings of the soulmate markings.”

Sander twisted his body to give Robbe a smile that Robbe reciprocated. It was there way of referencing the secret they shared.

Yasmina looked between them and smiled, shaking her head.

“Sander, please turn around and face the front,” Ms. Marsh said, having caught the exchange.

“Sorry, Ma’am,” he said but the smile on his face could be heard in his voice.

\--

As the lunch break rolled around, Robbe spotted Sander in the hallway exiting a classroom and preparing to go to the cafeteria as well. Robbe had not been able to stop thinking about him for the entire first half of the day. He had been too busy contemplating a few decisions regarding their situation to listen to his teachers so hopefully that wouldn’t come back to bite him later on.

“Hey,” Robbe said, getting Sander’s attention.

“Hi.”

“Look,” Robbe started once they stood beside each other, “I’ve been thinking, and I think that we should keep this whole soulmate thing to ourselves for now. I’m just not ready for people to know yet.”

Sander smiled at him softly, “I think that that’s perfectly fine, Robbe.”

Robbe returned the smile as they entered the hustle and bustle of students in the cafeteria.

\--

They stood there on the street situated between their two houses, about to part ways for the day.

“Um, do you want to come in?” Sander asked, motioning towards his home, “There’s something that I want to show you.”

“Sure,” Robbe said without any hesitation at all.

“Cool,” Sander said as a smile stretched across his face.

They laid their bikes down on the front lawn and Sander took out his key to unlock the door. They walked towards his bedroom and Robbe closed the door behind them leaving them alone.

“So, what did you want to show me?” Robbe asked, incredibly curious.

“Oh, right,” Sander said, searching through the scattering of papers on his rather messy desk until he pulled out a stack of a few pages.

He handed them to Robbe, looking nervous and hopeful at the same time.

Robbe looked down and was met with an intricate sketch of his face upon the paper. His face erupted in a wide smile as happiness engulfed him.

“You drew this for me?” he asked Sander.

“Yeah. It’s not done yet but imagine it on a giant wall in all of these intense colours,” Sander said, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

“I love it!” Robbe said before impulsivity overcame him.

He placed the papers on the bed and leaned forward, bringing his hand up to rest on the nape of Sander’s neck and meeting Sander’s lips with his own. It took Sander a moment to react but when he did, he sunk his fingers into Robbe’s hair and deepened the kiss.

Electricity coursed through Robbe’s veins as their lips moved in sync with one another’s as though it were a choreographed dance. A dance filled with passion and love. A warm feeling spread throughout Robbe’s body, a feeling he had never felt before and never wanted to live without again. The butterflies in his stomach fluttered their wings at a quickening rate.

Their lips slotted together perfectly as if they were made to fit together from the beginning, like it was destiny for them to meet, like it was fate for them to kiss.

Sander pulled back from the kiss to look at Robbe’s face. He brought his thumb up to brush against Robbe’s mark and gazed upon the glimmering colours.

They searched the depths of each other’s eyes as Robbe felt himself falling into the deep green ocean that lay hidden within Sander’s eyes. He was mesmerized.

They stood there for an eternity, or so it seemed, revelling in the feelings they shared. The feeling that they were the only ones in the world, that they existed in their own little bubble where only they mattered.

They lived in a world created just for them to live in and to love in, a shared universe.


	7. Broken Pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It may not be heaven, but it's Chapter Seven!
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> I rewrote this chapter because I wasn't happy with it originally. I hope you like it.

That Wednesday was filled with stolen kisses between classes, knowing glances across the hallway and traded smiles between Robbe and Sander. Robbe’s face was stretched into a perpetual smile for the duration of the day and the sheer bliss he felt warmed him inside.

As the end of the school day reached them, Robbe and Sander met up at the bike racks in front of the school as was dictated by the daily routine they had developed. They unlocked their bikes and moved to begin their journey home.

However, Robbe noticed that Sander’s smile from earlier had faded and a veil of darkness seemed to be covering his usual bright expression.

“Is everything okay?” Robbe asked him as they climbed on their bikes, “You seem a bit down.”

“Um, yeah, I’m just really tired,” Sander said, suddenly self-conscious, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Sander gave Robbe a small smile that seemed to be forced leaving Robbe unconvinced. He had a strong feeling that something was up with Sander, but he decided not to push the issue, he would let Sander to talk to him when he was ready and felt comfortable enough to do so.

They came to a stop at their usual departure place between their houses and Sander appeared to be getting worse.

“I think I’m gonna go and lie down, maybe get some sleep,” Sander said, forcing another smile for Robbe which he returned with one of his own.

“Okay. Well, I hope you can rest,” Robbe said, “I’ll text you later.”

Sander nodded his head in acknowledgement and slowly trudged towards his house, dragging his feet all the way to the front door.

Everything seemed wrong, everything seemed off kilter to Robbe but he resided to sticking to his original plan to not pressure Sander so as not to potentially push him further away.

\--

Every single one of Robbe’s texts to Sander from that evening went unread. He tossed and turned throughout the night, managing to catch a mere three hours of sleep. His alarm rang through his ears as he stared at the ceiling, already awake. He reached for his phone to end the incessant noise and came across a message from Sander.

**Sander** : _I’m not going to school today so don’t wait up for me._

Robbe was shaken from his sleepy haze as he read the brief string of words he had received. He was growing more and more concerned with every passing second. He attempted to calm himself down through reassurance that Sander was probably still not feeling well from the previous day and just needed some more rest. He promised himself that he wouldn’t spend the entire day worrying about the situation and about Sander.

Needless to say, Robbe spent the entire day worrying about Sander.

\--

As Robbe’s solo trip home reached its conclusion, he made the decision to go and check up on Sander to make sure that everything was fine and that he was okay. Hopefully, this would ease his concerns at least a little bit.

He placed his bike down on Sander’s front lawn and made his way to the door to ring the bell.

A few moments later, the door swung open and Robbe was face-to-face with a woman who he assumed to be Sander’s mother.

“Hello,” she greeted, “Can I help you with something?”

“Uh, yes please, I’m looking for Sander.”

“And who are you?”

“Oh, right, sorry. I’m Robbe, I live across the street,” Robbe answered as he pointed to his house.

“Oh, okay, well it’s nice to meet you Robbe but Sander’s not feeling well at the moment so you should probably come back another time,” she responded, a kind look on her face indicating that she had no intention of coming across as rude.

“Please,” Robbe begged her, “I really need to speak to him. I’m worried.”

His mother contemplated that before conceding, “Okay, but please make it quick.”

“Of course.”

She opened the door wider, allowing Robbe to step into the house and he made his way to Sander’s room, knocking on the door gently.

“Who is it?” a voice called from behind the door.

“It’s Robbe,” Robbe answered in a low voice.

A long pause occurred.

“Okay, come in.”

Robbe was met by the sight of Sander buried beneath the duvet on his bed, the only part of him that was visible was his head that was poking out from under it. He looked physically drained and his eyes looked willing to shut.

“What do you want?” Sander asked.

“I came to make sure that you’re okay,” Robbe said, inching towards the bed, “I’ve been worried about you.”

“Well, it’s not your job to worry about me,” Sander said, matter-of-factly.

Robbe was slightly jostled by his words.

“That doesn’t mean that I can’t be,” Robbe rebutted, “Please tell me what’s going on.”

Robbe had, at this point, officially discarded his plan of waiting for Sander to come to him. After seeing Sander in this state, he was too concerned to wait.

“What’s going on is that this isn’t working,” Sander said, struggling to get the words out, “And, it’s never gonna work.”

“What are you talking about?” Robbe asked, confused by what Sander had just said.

“This, you and me, we can’t do this.”

Robbe felt the sudden wave of nausea hit him as a pit formed in his stomach and tears in his eyes.

“Why not?” Robbe pleaded, “What about us?”

Sander took a deep breath.

“There is no us, Robbe,” he said, “There never has been and there never will be.”

“Why are you doing this?” Robbe said, lowly.

“I’m just doing what I need to do in order to protect you.”

“Protect me from what, Sander?” Robbe cried out.

“From me,” Sander said, his voice getting louder now, “You don’t deserve to have to be with me and I don’t deserve to be with you so it’s better to end this entire thing now.”

Silence filled the room.

“Sander, you promised that you would never hurt me,” Robbe said as an almost whisper that barely escaped his mouth, “What happened to that?”

“That’s what I’m trying to do,” Sander choked out.

“Well, you’re not doing a very good job at it.”

“Please leave,” Sander said, “You have to leave.”

Robbe stayed in place, still trying to process the conversation that had just transpired.

“Please,” Sander said, softly, “Just leave.”

Robbe reluctantly exited the room without another word and immediately burst into tears as the door shut behind him. He rushed out of the house, crossed the street and ran through the front door to his own home. He made a b-line for his room, running past his mother as he did.

He fell back onto his bed, the sounds of his sobs lining the walls of his room.

His mother knocked on the door and proceeded to enter, not waiting for Robbe to answer.

“What happened?” she asked, concerned and shocked.

“It was all a lie, Mama,” Robbe said through his tears, “Everything was a lie.”

“What was a lie, Robbe?” his mother said as she came to sit next to him on the bed and pulled him into her arms.

“All of the feelings, all of the promises, all of the emotions,” he paused, “All of it with Sander.”

“Who’s Sander?” his mom asked as he had never gotten around to telling her about him.

Robbe held back his tears for a brief moment so he could say, “He’s my soulmate, according to this stupid mark anyways.”

Robbe lifted his hand to rub against the black mark beneath his eye.

His mom placed her hand behind his head and brought him closer to her.

“Robbe,” she said, her voice coated in care and love, “I’m so sorry.”

She held him in her arms as he cried. No more words needed to be said, there were only tears that needed to fall and a heart that needed its broken pieces put back together.


	8. Light in the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's fate that I bring to Chapter Eight!

It’s Thursday evening and Robbe’s essay on soulmates for English Lit, the one he inadvertently inspired, is due tomorrow. He hasn’t even had time to think about it with everything that has been going on, so he had yet to start on it at all.

He sits down at his desk only to realize that his views on soulmates had chopped and changed throughout the past two weeks. However, they seem to have circled back around to their origin point after taking a few detours.

He let his pen glide across the paper as the words flowed out of him, as the heartbreak drove his thoughts. He reiterates most of the ideas he had said on the day that this essay was assigned, the ideas that soulmates lead to nothing but pain and the notion that happily ever after exists with your perfect person, your other half, is nothing more than a sham and there is absolutely no truth to it.

He finishes the essay and staples the pages together without bothering to read it over. He places it into his backpack and heads to bed for a restless night.

\--

The weekend comes and goes without Robbe hearing a single thing from Sander. He wasn’t expecting anything, but he still hoped for something against his better judgement and knowing.

He ignored all of the messages from his friends asking where he was. He really just wanted to be as physically alone as he felt emotionally alone in that moment.

He spent Saturday and Sunday on the couch watching something or other on TV, never really focusing on what he was watching, his mind always drifting elsewhere.

He’d noticed the look of concern on his mother’s face, but he assumed that she was letting him be alone until he was ready to be otherwise.

Eventually, Sunday night rolled around and his mother seems to have given up and she comes to sit next to him on the sofa.

“Hi, Robbe,” she said.

“Hi,” he muttered, eyes still locked on the screen.

“Robbe, I don’t know what to do and I know that there’s nothing much that I can do for you right now but I’m going to try because I can’t stand to see you like this anymore. So, I’m going to tell you what my mother told me when I was going through a similar thing to you.”

Robbe raised his head to meet her eyes. He knew that she was referring to when his dad left them. He remembered how devasted him mom was, how she essentially fell apart and he remembered how much pain she was in.

“My mother sat me down and looked me in the eyes,” she started, “She told me that I shouldn’t be thinking too far ahead. Pain is pain and you’re meant to feel it, but you can’t feel it all at once, that’s too much to handle and it will break you eventually. So, you have to take it day by day, and when that’s too difficult, you take it hour by hour and when that gets too much, you take it minute by minute.”

Robbe turned his head away from her to ponder upon what she said.

“Look, I know that it hurts right now and it’s probably going to hurt for a while, but you don’t have to tackle it all in one go. You have to fight the small battles, not the entire war.”

His mother smiled at him softly, gave him a kiss on the forehead and whispered, “I love you.”

She stood up from the couch, preparing to leave.

“Please think about it,” she added.

And that’s what Robbe did for the remainder of the day. His mind fixated on the words she had said.

\--

A week had passed and Robbe had yet to see Sander again. He hadn’t shown up to school in all that time and Robbe was growing ever more worried about him. He knew that Sander wanted nothing to do with him, but he couldn’t stop himself from caring. He wouldn’t stop himself from caring so matter how much it hurt to do so.

He rode to school every day with the hopes that he would see Sander and rode home with those hopes having been crushed.

\--

It was Friday afternoon and Robbe was in his room doing some Biology homework. He had been focusing more on his schoolwork lately in an attempt to distract himself and it had only marginally helped but he’ll take what he can get at this point.

A knock at the door startled Robbe and he begrudgingly got up to answer it.

Sander’s mom stood in the doorway, unease painted on her face.

“Hello,” she said, appearing to be on the verge of tears.

“Hi,” Robbe said, cautiously.

“Um, I know that this is weird seeing as I barely know you, but I have a feeling that you deeply care about Sander and that he does the same for you. So, I’m here to ask for your help, please.”

“Sure. What do you need?”

Tears began streaming down her face as she said, “Sander ran away and we don’t know where he is. Do you have any idea where he may have gone?”

Robbe swallowed the lump in his throat that was forming and attempted to process the news that had just been delivered to him.

“Please, I wouldn’t be coming to you if it wasn’t a last resort,” she said.

“When did he leave?” Robbe asked.

“He left on Wednesday,” she said, choking on her words, “He’s done this before but he always comes back after a day or so, never longer than that.”

Robbe took a moment to think.

“I really don’t know where he could have gone, I’m so sorry,” he said, “But I’ll let you know if I think of anything.”

She nodded her head in understanding, “Okay, thank you so much. I’m really sorry to randomly spring this on you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Robbe said with a caring smile.

“Okay, here’s my number just in case,” she said, passing him a piece of paper with a number scribbled on it.

She turned around and retreated back to her home.

Robbe slumped back against the door, he could feel the tears building up and he knew that he had to do something.

He pulled out his phone to call Sander but was met with the voice message indicating that he had turned off his phone.

“Sander,” he pleaded, “There is an us, even if you don’t believe it so please call me when you get this. I need to know that you’re okay.”

\--

Robbe spent the rest of the afternoon in shambles, pacing across his room, his thoughts focused on Sander. He couldn’t stop thinking that something terrible might have happened to him and the idea of that sickened him.

At 18:00, his phone pinged with a message notification.

**Sander** : _I’m trying to protect you from the darkness._

“What?” Robbe said out loud.

**Robbe** : _Are you okay? Where are you?_

 **Sander** : _I’m waiting for the light to shine._

Robbe sat back on his bed, reading the message over and over again, his mind racing through his confused thoughts.

Just then, he realized what Sander had meant. It clicked in his mind as the memory flooded back to him.

“Even in the darkest times, you can still shine,” Sander had told him that night in the warehouse.

Robbe ran outside and grabbed his bike. He pedalled as fast as he could towards the warehouse. Snapshots of the time they spent together flashed through his mind like a movie reel. The glint in Sander’s green eyes when Robbe stared into them, the brightness that his smile radiated when he was filled with joy and the softness of his lips against Robbe’s when they kissed.

Robbe travelled faster and faster, hoping with all his heart that he would find his soulmate at his destination.

\--

Robbe leaned his bike against the wall and sprinted up the stairs and towards the room that Sander had shared with Robbe not too long ago.

He gently opened the door and found Sander sitting against the wall, sketching a picture with the aid of the light emanating from the couple of bulbs that were on.

“Sander,” Robbe said, lowly.

Sander looked up at the sound of his name being called and his eyes fell upon Robbe. He pushed himself up from where he was sitting and quickly moved towards Robbe, pushing him towards the door.

“You have to go,” Sander said, desperately, “You have to stay the fuck away from me.”

Sander turned around, throwing his hands in the air and proceeded to return to his position as he fell against the wall, sliding back down to the ground.

“Sander,” Robbe said, surprised.

“Please leave,” he said, his head lowered.

“I’m not leaving,” Robbe responded.

“Please,” Sander pleaded.

“I’m not leaving,” Robbe repeated, sitting down across from him, “Fuck man, Sander, I’ve been so worried about you.

Robbe took Sander’s hand in his own and kissed it gently.

“Then your mom told me that you were gone, and I was terrified that something bad might have happened to you and it made me realize something.”

Robbe took a deep breath and held Sander’s hand tighter.

“Soulmates are real, and they may be the source of pain, but they are also the source of so much love and care and butterflies in your stomach and I’ve come to realize how precious that is. I want all of it, Sander, and I want it with you. I know that I should have fought harder for you because we’re meant to be together and not because some mark tells us that but because it’s what I feel in my heart.”

Robbe paused.

“Sander, I love you.”

Sander was silent for a moment before he responded.

“You say that now,” he said, shaking his head, “But I’m just gonna end up hurting you and you’re gonna grow to hate me.”

“No, no, no,” Robbe said, “You told me that through every darkness, there’s a possibility to shine and I’m gonna be here with you through the dark times, the light times and every time in between. I will wait with you in the darkness for the light to shine. I’m not leaving you.”

Sander lifted his head and met Robbe’s gaze.

Robbe took Sander’s hands in his and began to pull him up off the floor.

“Come on, we’re gonna do something.”

Sander groaned and resisted Robbe’s movement.

“Come,” Robbe said, beckoning him, “Come on.”

Sander reluctantly stood up and allowed himself to be guided to the centre of the room.

The light from the globes cast shadows across both of their faces as they stood there, looking into each other’s eyes.

“We’re gonna play a game,” Robbe announced, softly, “and it’s called, Sander and Robbe, Minute by Minute.”

“And the rules?” Sander asked.

“The rules are that we’re not gonna say ‘What if we ever…’ but rather, ‘What if we, in the next minute…’ okay?”

“Okay,” Sander muttered.

“In the next minute, we’re gonna kiss,” Robbe said with a slight smile on his face.

“That’s chill,” Sander said with a miniscule smile of his own.

“That’s chill,” Robbe repeated, his smile growing wider.

Robbe took a moment before bringing his hands up to caress Sander’s face as he leaned in to brush their lips against each other’s.

A feeling of comfort and warmth spread throughout Robbe’s body along with a sense of belonging because this was where he was meant to be, or rather, who he was meant to be with. The fit together perfectly like they were crafted, in the beginning, with the other person in mind. The butterflies in Robbe’s stomach fluttered their wings at a rapid pace before Sander pulled away.

He lay his head in the crook of Robbe’s neck and began to cry. Robbe brought his hand to rest in Sander’s hair, pulling him closer to him.

“It’s okay,” Robbe said, “I’m here.”

They gently lowered themselves to the floor, Robbe holding Sander in his arms as tears streamed down his face. He tightened his grip, not willing to let go. Robbe dropped his head to that it was next to Sander’s to let him know that he was right there with him and he was never going to leave him. He was going to be there with him through everything and anything.

“I’m so happy I found you,” Robbe whispered in his ear.

They sat there for a while, Robbe wrapping his arms around Sander, comforting him.

 _Minute by Minute_ , Robbe thought to himself.


	9. True Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's about time, for Chapter Nine!

Robbe awoke on Saturday morning and felt Sander’s arm draped over his body. He could feel the heat radiating off of Sander and how it melded together with his own. He brought his hand down to place it on top of Sander’s and caressed it, brushing his thumb over the back of it, a smile crossing his lips. A happiness filled his body, one that he had never felt before up until he laid his eyes upon Sander.

They had a lot to discuss but for now, he was going to lie here, wrapped up in love and filled with joy.

Robbe closed his eyes and allowed sleep to wash over him once more. He returned to the sweet dreams he was having that were never going to be able to match up to the sweetness of the dream that was now his reality.

\--

Robbe woke up for the second time and reached for his phone on the nightstand to check the time, 10:00. He decided to get up and go to the kitchen to grab something for Sander and him to eat in bed. He unravelled himself from Sander’s grasp and stood up slowly, quietly making his way to the door.

“Are you leaving me behind?” Sander asked, his tone laced with exhaustion.

“No, never,” Robbe replied with a soft smile gracing his face.

Robbe approached the bed, leaned over Sander, and planted a gentle kiss to his lips.

“Where are you going then?” Sander said, vulnerability etched into his voice.

“To the kitchen to get us some breakfast.”

“Will you come back?”

“Altijd,” Robbe said, placing another kiss on Sander’s soft lips.

“Come back soon,” Sander muttered, “Preferable with coffee, please.”

Robbe let out a small laugh, “Of course.”

\--

Robbe walked into the kitchen to be met by his mom who gave him a kind and knowing smile.

“You look happy,” she said, “Did things work out?”

“Yeah, I think they did,” Robbe replied, his smile growing.

He took some biscuits out of the cupboard and made to cups of coffee before exiting the room, biscuits under his arm and a mug in each hand.

\--

“Here you go,” Robbe said, handing Sander the mug.

“Thank you,” he said, blowing on the hot coffee to cool it down.

“How are you feeling?” Robbe asked, cautiously.

Sander took a moment to think about it.

“I’m doing better but not there yet,” Sander replied.

Robbe nodded.

“Thank you for coming to find me and for caring enough about me to do that,” Sander continued.

“Of course I care about you, Sander,” Robbe said, smiling at him softly, “I’ll always find you, no matter what.”

Sander took a deep breath.

“You should know what happened though,” Sander said.

“You can tell me whenever you’re ready to,” Robbe said with a caring smile, “I’ll be here to listen.”

“No, I want you to know,” Sander said, dropping his head, “I’m bipolar.”

Robbe paused for a moment, absorbing the information before responding.

He placed his hand under Sander’s chin and lifted his head so that their eyes met.

“Sander, it’s okay, you don’t have to be ashamed about that at all. I love you and nothing could ever change that.”

Sander allowed a small smile to cross his lips.

“I love you too,” he said, leaning forward so that their lips connected in a sweet kiss, “How did you find me, by the way?”

“I followed the light through the darkness,” Robbe replied with a smile on his face.

“That’s deep,” Sander said, jokingly.

“Hey,” Robbe said, pretending to be offended, “I’m just paraphrasing what you said.”

They both let out a laugh.

\--

Robbe followed Sander’s lead as they approached the warehouse once more.

Sander guided him around the corner of the building to the back of it. Robbe’s was immediately met by a sight with made an ocean of tears well up behind his eyes, waiting to breach the surface. Not tears of sadness, but tears of joy.

Robbe’s eyes fell upon a giant mural of his face that had been painted in an array of intense colours against the brick. He let his gaze dwell on it for a moment as he processed what he was seeing before he spoke up.

“You actually made it,” Robbe said, surprised.

“I told you I would,” Sander said, “The face of the most beautiful man I have ever seen deserves to be shared with the world.”

Robbe laughed as he wrapped his arms around Sander’s neck, bringing him closer.

“Ik zie u graag,” Robbe said.

“Ik ook,” Sander replied, bringing them together for a kiss.

The world faded away around them and all that was left was the two of them and their love for each other, a true love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to thank each and every one of you for reading this fic! It means the absolute world to me!
> 
> I love you all!
> 
> Stay safe xx  
> -D
> 
> *Ik zie u graag: I love you  
> Ik ook: I love you too


	10. When Sander Saw Robbe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to add a sort of epilogue that's actually a prologue.
> 
> I really hope that you enjoy it!
> 
> Thanks again for reading!
> 
> Stay safe xx  
> -D

Sander stood in front of the window, gazing out at the quiet street. He had just arrived with his family, earlier that morning at an obscenely early time for who knows what reason but there wasn’t much to do until the moving van arrived.

Sander watched as the wind rustled through the trees causing the leaves to fall off of their branches and listened to the ringing of the windchimes as it blew past them.

That’s when he spotted movement from across the street. A figure emerged from the house opposite to his own and as the person came into view, Sander’s breath was knocked right out of him.

The figure belonged to a boy, a beautiful boy, a magnificent boy whose mop of curly, brown hair seemed to frame his face in just the right way. He looked like an angel to Sander and he could feel his heart beginning to race. The boy’s brown jacket looked to be slightly too big for him but that made it all the more endearing.

Sander watched him mount his bike and head off to wherever he was going. He turned his head to follow the boy down the street until he disappeared around a corner.

Sander’s knees felt weak as he dropped to the hard floor. A comfortable sofa would have been preferable, but it had yet to be delivered so the floor it was. Sander gazed ahead of himself, the image of the boy painted into his view and engrained in his mind. There was just something about him.

\--

Sander stood on the front lawn, on his phone, as the working of men carrying boxes and moving furniture occurred around him. He was going to help out later on, but for now, he was waiting. Waiting for the boy from that morning to return home.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted movement form down the street and twisted his head slightly to get a better view.

It was him. It was the boy that had taken Sander’s breath away from the moment he laid his eyes on him.

As the boy got closer and closer, Sander told himself,

_Act cool. Be cool. You’re cool, right?_

He lfited his head to see that the boy had stopped on the sidewalk on the other side of the street and was looking at him.

 _Ok, here we go_.

Sander gave him a small smile and a nod of his head and was met with the most gorgeous smile he had ever seen. The smile appeared to light up the surrounding areas and most definitely brightened Sander’s day.

Sander’s stomach was filled with butterflies flapping their wings at such a fast rate that it can only be assumed that they were trying to escape. His palms felt sweaty and his brain got foggy.

He spun around and walked through the front door. He returned to his previous position on the floor (They had still not placed the couch) and Sander’s mind was cloaked in a haze.

The only thought that occureded to him was…

 _He is the one_.


End file.
